"Bringing the U to You" 2013 Lecture Series

Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm Great Falls, MT

Lecture 4: Owen Sirrs, UM, "Afghanistan: Where Do We Go from Here?"

Current goals and strategies of the United States in the war in Afghanistan will be explored by a former U.S. senior intelligence analyst who now helps train U.S. military personnel deploying to Afghanistan. Owen Sirrs, a culture and South Asia regional politics instructor at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana, will explore controversial issues in his talk. Sirrs will address key questions. Will the U.S. really hand over the combat mission to the Afghans by 2014? If not, why not? What is the nature of the recent agreement concluded with the Afghan government that will have U.S. forces in that country until 2024? Can the Taliban insurgency be defeated? If we settle for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, what will be the costs?

An instructor in UM's Defense Critical Language and Culture Program, Sirrs teaches the geography, history and politics of Afghanistan and Pakistan to deploying U.S. forces. He has served as lead analyst on Iran for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. The author of two books and several articles on Egyptian security, Sirrs has a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and master's degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and the National Defense Intelligence College.

Great Falls College MSU Heritage Hall, 2100 16th Ave. S

Tickets are $10 for individual lectures ($5 for students) or $25 for all four lectures and may be purchased at the door.